Frozen Flames
by cielle-chi
Summary: "Hey there!" "Wa-Wait! That's a girl's voice!" "What!" "Oh boy." / When she's around, there's always time and place for another mischief to happen. But it's not her fault she was jumpy and cheerful. It wasn't her fault at all. It wasn't her fault she was their friend. Oh well. OCx?. Rated K for the mean time, rating may change later./ on temporary hiatus: 01/12/13


Chapter ONE:

The sun was high in the sky. The rays were blinding her. She had to close her eyes to shut the annoying bright light. She had to rely on her other senses to find what she was looking for. Her body could feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins. The feeling was foreign, at the same time, familiar. The cheers of the crowd were drowned by only the sound she wishes to find. She could practically feel the anticipating stares of the viewers.

The feelings were all familiar. Yet she couldn't remember when the last time she felt them was. She felt accustomed to doing these. She could no longer feel the ground as her steps grew quicker in succession. She could no longer feel the tiredness she was feeling prior to this moment. The sensation was very exhilarating. She could feel the pressure around _that_ object. The ball, _that_ special ball, which she was currently chasing.

She adjusted her grip on the long handle as she quickly flipped her wrist. Her muscles were working harmoniously. It felt electrifying to move around the large court. With the final strong swing of her arm, the ball was on the other side before anyone could blink.

"Game, set, and match! Nagashima! Six games to two!" the referee announced.

There was silence. Then loud boisterous cheers. It has been three months since she last heard this kind of loud noise. It has been a year since she stepped into a court. This was her court, her playground, her home. This was where she belongs, the tennis court.

XoxoxoxoxoX

Before she knew it, she was back in Japan. As she stepped into the threshold of her penthouse, she noticed that the lights were off. Which was odd, she usually kept the living room lights on even if she was out of the country. The lady blindly reached for the switch which was quite far from the door. When she flipped it, a hand made its way around her waist in a gentle yet firm grip.

"Congratulations!" was all she heard. She had to spend at least five minutes before registering what was in front of her.

There was a banner saying 'CONGRATULATIONS', food and drinks were on the table, and her brother and two closest friends were there.

The hand on her waist was removed. She immediately knew it was her closest of the closest friend, just from the scent. She turned around and Tokugawa Kazuya was there, a small smile on his face. She knew that it was rare for the stoic man to show some emotions. So just a small smile, and she am already happy with that. Her brother, Nagashima Subaru, was grinning as he enveloped her in an (death hug) embrace. Irie Kanata and Oni Jujiro were standing behind him. The former was laughing at her state and the latter had a small smirk.

Kazuya, or Kazu as she usually calls him, is a tall, stoic man. He has dark blue hair and fair skin. He is also freakishly tall that he is taller than her by almost two heads. She loves the fact that behind the stoic man, he is one cuddly friend inside, and only she could coax it out of him. Kanata, or Kana for me, is a bubbly teenager with curly brown hair and light red eyes. He is almost the same height as her, if not for the fact that he is taller than her by a mere 4 inches. Kanata is her accomplice in every prank they do anywhere. With his aloof personality and her mischievous nature, Kana is definitely her partner in crimes. Jujiro, or Juji, is a giant man. He has blackish red hair which style is I-Don't-Know. Though his red eyes are intimidating, he is one teddy bear inside. He is stoic, much like Kazu, but he can definitely talk more than 5 words. And coaxing out these personalities of them are definitely making her happy. They are her best of best friends.

Back to reality, she didn't know that her brother and friends watched her match. After all, she didn't tell anyone. The tournament was the last of the Grand Slam tournaments- the US Open. It is her third Calendar Grand Slam title, and she was planning on resting from the professional circuits. The Tennis Organization was kind of shocked, but they respected her decision.

"Chi-chan, congratulations on your win!" Kana exclaimed as he had his turn to hug her. Kazu and Juji call her Michi. Kana and her brother call her Chi-chan. Short for Michiru.

Meet Nagashima Michiru, 14 years old. Michiru is who they call the Queen of Tennis because of her 'Royal Play'. She started playing tennis as soon as she could hold a racket (which was taller than her, by the way). She started entering Junior Tennis Tournaments at the age of 8 and began competing in the Grand Slam Tournaments as soon as Michi reached 11. It was her first time to compete in a large competition. But with encouragements and skills, she managed to defeat all opponents and became the youngest and the only female to compete in the Grand Slams for Men.

You might be wondering how she managed to enter the courts of the Wimbledon, French, Australian and US Open. Her brother handled the World Tennis Association. And being the persuasive Lord of the Courts he is, he managed to win over the Association's side to let Michi compete at the tournament. She knows it sounds like cheating. The Association was quite resistant at first, but when they saw her play against one of the best players, they were convinced to let her play throughout. And that was the beginning of her pro tennis career.

But after Michi's third Calendar Grand Slam, she's back in Japan to join another Under-17 Tennis Camp. High-schoolers from different schools all over Japan are invited to join the camp. And though her age is for middle school, she is still invited not because she's popular, but because she is an important part of the camp (though only the coaches and these four knows about her joining). She also heard from Kazu that the coaches invited several middle schools this year, which makes it more exciting.

The U-17 Camp composes of 16 courts divided by skill. The smaller the number of the court, the stronger the players. This year, 50 middle schoolers will be part of court 16. And the only way for them to make it to court 1, 2, 3, or any other courts are by shuffle matches. Michi is currently in court 1 with Kazu. Every student in the camp thinks he is the strongest as he is a first stringer. They never knew that he is just a second stringer. As Michi is the first one.

You might not believe it, but Michi is stronger than Kazu. She is the one who taught him to play with multiple balls, though she thinks that he is stuck with ten balls. Michi can actually play with 15 balls. I know it sounds impossible, but it isn't. As a girl, Michi can never have the strength boys have, so she has to be better in terms of speed. Speed, even with just a short amount of strength, makes it seem like it is a powerful shot, even if it isn't.

"Thanks," she answered them with a wide smile. "I didn't know your were watching."

"Of course," her brother said. "I am your brother after all. And why didn't you say anything about being in the US Open?"

Michi sighed. Here comes his childish rant again. "I didn't even know when it was. Elli dragged me when I was playing at the street courts. Next thing I know, I was registered."

Kazu sighed. "Just as I thought, Elliot is still a happy-go-lucky, huh," he muttered. "I wouldn't be surprised if he would be here tomorrow."

"Oh, don't worry Kazu," she smiled. "He won't. After all, he still has to compete in another Junior Tournament. Now then, tell me about this U-17 Camp for the year."

"Oh, you'll no soon. Coach Saito did invite you again right?" Kana said, winking. Michi groaned, nothing good would come out of the camp if they were hiding something from her.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-


End file.
